Pouring handle and carrier for necked containers



1942. T. H. JENKINS POURINQ HANDLE AND CARRIER FOR NECKED CONTAINE Filed June 3, 1940 Patented Nov. 3, 1942 OFFICE POURING HANDLE AND CARRIER F0 NECKED CONTAINERS Tazewell H. Jenkins, Chicago, Ill. Application June 3, 1940, Serial No. 338,486

3 Claims.

The field of use of large bottles of the half gallon or gallon size has in recent years become greatly extended. Both hands are required to hold one of these large bottles while pouring out the contents thereof and, even so, unless a person be very strong, difiiculty is experienced in handling and emptying such bottles.

Theobject of the present invention is to facilitate the handling of large bottles or other necked containers, particularly in pouring out their contents and, at the same time, leave one hand of the user free, if desired.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a simple wire form that may be dropped down over the container and, by a simple manipulation, be 1 that the container is in a pouring position, re-

gardless of the quantity of liquid that happens to be in the container in any given time. Associated with the form maybe a suitable bail by means of which the container may be carried while it is maintained in a vertical position. In accordance with one feature, of my invention, the parts are so constructed that the bail may either be used to support the open end of the container during pouring or be automatically held away from the stream of liquid flowing from the container if the latter be supported only by the pouring handle.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularly in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my inventionand of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawin wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a large bottle having one of my improved devices attached thereto; Fig. 2 is a section, on a larger'scale, through the neck of the bottle, just above the ring member that embraces the neck, showing this ring member contracted about the neck; Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2, showing the ring member expanded to permit the device to be lifted from or be lowered down upon the bottle and Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 2, showing only one of the hinge joints between the carrying bail and the pouring device.

In the drawing there is illustrated a container A in the form of a bottle and, for thesak'e of brevity, the invention will be described as applied to this particular container although, of course, the invention is applicable to any other container that has a neck. The bottle is shown as having the usual neck B around which, at some distance from the base end thereof, is a projecting flange or collar C. My improved carrying and pouring device comprises, generally speaking, a large ring adapted to fit loosely around the body portion of the bottle, whereby it may be dropped down around the bottle or be lifted off the bottle without difiiculty; a small expansible and contractile ring adapted to be moved down over the neck of the bottle or be removed in the upward direction past the flange or collar, when expanded, and'be locked in a state sufficiently contracted that it cannot slip upwardly'past the flange or neck; together with a wide, stiff. handleconnecting the two rings and long enough to permit the large ring to lie far down toward the bottom of the bottle while the small ring is resting onthe shoulder at the base of the neck. In addition, I prefer to provide a bail hinged to the small upper ring for the purpose of carrying the bottle in an upright position. The particular device illustrated in the drawing is one composed entirely, except for the combined expanding and contracting means for the smaller ring, of wire, since I prefer to employ wire in the construction of these devices.

The largering member of the device is shown as consisting of a complete ring I composed of a single wire and a half ring 2 positioned above and parallel to the ring I; the ends of the half ring' "being bent downwardly and backwardly parallel with the. body portion of the wire so as to provide-sections that lie upon and extend for some distance along the main wire I to which they are fastened by welding. The small upper ring member is composed of two half rings 4, 4. Corresponding ends of the half rings are bent into small eyes 5' lyingin the plane of the ring.

Connecting these ends of the divided ring is a toggle device comprising two links 6 and 1, each secured at one end to one of the eyes by a rivet 8. The link I is connected to the link 6 at a short distance from the hinge axis of the latter, by a pin or' rivet 9; the link 6' extending a considerable distance beyond the connection between the two links'to provide a handle or a finger piece [0. 'Thelinks 6 and form a toggle which, when manipulated so as to bring the two links approximately in'toalignment with each other, spreads the adjacent ends of the ringapart, as shown in Fig. 3'; Whereas, when, the link 6, used as a lever, is swung about its hinge connection with the ring in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, draws the corresponding ends of the ring together and, after the pin or rivet 9 has swung past the line connecting the hinge axes of the two links, as in Fig. 2, locks the corresponding ends of the ring against separation. In other words, when the toggle is in its extended condition, as in Fig. 3, the divided ring is held expanded to such an extent that the ring may be slipped on and oil the neck of the bottle whereas, when the toggle is brought into the v tween the wires l and 2 and somewhat wider from one arm to the other than the thickness of the fingers of a mans hand. These upturned ends l2 engage with the ring I and with the half ring 2 half way between the ends of the latter and are welded to both of these rings. a

The extreme ends of the upturned sections are curved inwardly over the top of the wire of the half ring 2, as indicated at M, so that the end faces of these wire ends are directed toward the bottle and no sharp edges are left exposed when the device is in position on the bottle. The main portion of the compound bail or strip extends upwardly from the bottom of the U a distance substantially greater than the width of a mans hand; this portion forming the actual grip portion of the handle. By making the grip por-' tion long, the user may shift his hand along the same and thus enable him to hold the bottle balanced, for pouring, regardless of the quantity of liquid which the bottle at any time happens to contain. The wires at the upper end of the grip portion 15 are curved rearwardly as they are at the lower end of the handle but, instead of being formed into a U, are given a reverse curvature so as to produce an S shape at the upper end of the grip portion. The free arm or leg l6 of this portion extends up into the vicinity of the two half rings 4 that are not connected by the toggle. ring are provided with long straight extensions I1 each of which lies between one of the outer wires of the handle and the adjacent inner wire and is welded to both of these wires. Consequently, the upper section of the handle may be said to form a part of the divided ring, namely the part that keeps the ring at a point diametrically opposite the toggle connection. Thus, the two half rings act in the manner of a ring which is complete except for a division at one point.

However, by the present construction, the effect is the same as though a larger ring had been collapsed diametrically opposite the point of division to produce a long projection similar to a hairpin; thereby permitting the two half rings proper to spread apart bodily in the manner of the jaws at the end of a pair of tongs. This can readily be understood from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3. If the righthand ends of half rings 4 were joined together adjacent to the bottle neck, the expansion of the ring would be no In the arrange- These two ends of the divided greater than the distance to which the toggle spreads the ring ends to which it is connected. However, because the parts of the ring diametrically opposite the toggle can also spread, as shown in Fig. 3, the effect of the toggle is greatly increased and the ring may be made smaller than if it were a simple ring divide-d at one point.

A bail l8 by means of which the bottle may be carried about may conveniently be secured to the divided ring. In the arrangement shown, each of the half rings is provided at the middle with a U-shaped outwardly-projecting loop IS. The free ends of the bail are bent into eyes 20 each of which embraces the rear arm of one of the loops [9; meaning thereby the arm that is on the side toward the handle. With this construction, the bail is free to swing from an upright position, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, in the rearward direction, until it rests upon the upper section It of the bar-like handle. Forward swinging movements beyond the position indicated in Figs. 1 and 4 are prevented through engagement of the lower ends of the bail with the forward arms of the two loops I9.

It is desirable that the wires of the handle be spaced apart from each other, so that they cannot be welded directly to each other. Of course, the parts of the ring I and half ring 2 to which the upturned sections I2 are welded serve as cross bars to secure the wires together. A further cross connection may be provided on the grip portion IS in the form of a long wire 2| shaped like a long 8 having its loops closed overlying all four wires of the handle and welded thereto.

It will be seen that when the toggle is straightened, as in Fig. 3, the device as a whole may be dropped down upon the bottle or be lifted therefrom freely; whereas, when the toggle is shifted into the locking position'of Figs. 1 and 2, the device is secured to the bottle and cannot again be removed until the toggle is again operated. In order to prevent the toggle from being accidentally shifted from its locking position while the bottle is being carried, I make the part I0 of the toggle device long enough and of such shape that its free end lies between one of the legs of the bail and th neck of the bottl when the bail is vertical. Consequently, if it be at- 1 tempted to swing the member IE) to straighten the toggle, whil the bottle is being carried, the bail will act as a stop against which the member ID strikes even before the pin or rivet 9 has swung past center in the direction to open the divided ring.

When it is desired to pour from the bottle, the

bottle need only be grasped by the handle and its upper end be swung down until the liquid begins to flow. Should the bail be or swing into its bottle-carrying position at this time, it will not come in contact with the stream emerging from the bottle, but the liquid will flow underneath and clear of the cross element of the bail. When the bottle is full, the bail may be grasped in one hand and the handle in the other, for pouring, so as to distribute the weight of the bottle and its contents between the two ends. However,

when the bottle is full, the gripped section of empty, the handle may be slipped clear to the rear or lower end of the handle so that the bottle hangs almost vertical. In other words, the bail may or may not be used to assist in pouring from the bottle. When only one hand is employed, it is for the purpose of grasping the stifi handle, and it may be shifted along the handle according to the quantity of liquid contained in the bottle at a given moment.

A device constructed as illustrated can easily be kept clean and, since it can easily be applied to or removed from a bottle, it can advantageously be used in kitchens and elsewhere where liquids to be consumed are received in large bottles or the like. It will also be seen that the device is simple and rugged so that, if manufactured of the proper materials, it should possess a useful life indefinitely.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definition of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An attachment for a necked container comprising a large ring adapted to surround the body of the container, a divided ring adapted to embrace the neck of the container, 2. long rigid handle connecting said rings, and a bail hinged to said divided ring so as to be limited to'swinging movements between a position in which it lies on the handle and that in which its position relative to the container is th same as when the container is being carried thereby.

2. An attachment for a necked container comprising a large ring adapted to surround the body of the container, a still" handle fixed at one end to said ring and projecting transversely to the plane thereof, a means for embracing th neck of the container comprising two grippers projecting from the free end of said handle, a bail hinged to said grippers, and a toggle device extending between th free ends of the grippers to move them from and toward each other, said toggle having a part which extends through the bail when the toggle is in its locking position and the bail is vertical.

3. An attachment for a necked container comprising a wire ring adapted to surround the body of the container, a segment of .a wire ring of the same diameter as the aforesaid ring above and parallel to the latter, bends at the ends of the segment contacting and welded to the ring, a handle member composed of a group of parallel wires arranged at right angles to the plan of the ring with corresponding end sections in contact with the ring and the segment at the middle of the latter, the handle wires being welded to the ring and segment, and means at the other end of the handle to embrace the neck of the container.

TAZEWELL H. JENKINS. 

